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February 4, 2012, (VN) — Marco Marcato (Vacansoleil-DCM) darted to victory in Saturday’s weather-shortened stage at the Etoile de Besseges in southern France.

For the second time in three days, foul weather forced race organizers to redirect the route that’s been plagued with cold, wind and snow. After some consideration, offcials opted to hold the race on a 22km circuit in Bagnols-sur-Ceze.

Bobbie Tracksel tried his luck at an escape, but Europcar rode to defend the leader’s jersey of Pierre Rolland. The group was later
fractured in heavy winds, with second-place rider Nacer Bouhanni (FDJ) losing the wheel.

Marcato held off Belgian veteran Nico Eeckhout (An Post-Sean Kelly) to claim the win, with Julien El Fares coming close with third for his new squad at Team Type 1.

Rolland carries the leader’s jersey into Sunday’s double-stage finale, which includes a road stage and a 9.7km individual time trial to wrap France’s first stage race on the 2012 season.

February 4, 2012 (VN) — Elia Viviani (Liquigas-Cannondale) scored his second win of the 2012 season, kicking to victory Saturday in the GP Costa degli Etruschi that opened the Italian racing calendar.

Viviani won the Italian season-opener last year and confirms that he’s a sprinter on the rise. Inclement weather along the Italian
Mediterranean coast made for a long afternoon, but Viviano held off another rising prospect, Sacha Modolo (Colnago), with Filippo Baggio crossing the line third.

“This is a sign of maturity for me,” Viviani said at the line. “I started with the pressure of defending champion and despite some tough weather and racing conditions, I was able to confirm. My experience from last year helped. I thought Petacchi was the man to beat and I was watching him. When Modolo went, I passed with 70m to go to win.”

Viviani, 23, will race next at the Giro della Provincia di Reggio Calabria (February 9-12) and the London test event on the track
(February 15-16). His first major goal on the road will be Paris-Nice in early March.

Viviani will be taking aim at Olympic gold later this summer in the omium.

February 4, 2012, Mallorca, Spain (VN) — Alberto Contador (Saxo Bank) will race Sunday in the opening round of the Mallorca Challenge in what will be his final event ahead of the long-anticipated ruling in his ongoing doping case before the Court of Arbitration for Sport.

Contador will race in Sunday’s Trofeo de Palma, a circuit course in central Palma de Mallorca, and then return to his home near Madrid on Monday to await the CAS ruling.

CAS officials said a decision will finally be released Monday in his long-running clenbuterol case dating back to the 2010 Tour de France.

The Mallorca Challenge could be Contador’s final race if CAS hands down a racing ban. He faces up to two years and the disqualification of his 2010 Tour victory if the three-member panel comes down against him.

Other victories he’s earned, such as the 2011 Giro d’Italia as well as the overall titles at the Murcia and Catalunya tours, could be stripped as well.

Contador, meanwhile, has insisted on his innocence and hopes to be cleared of charges, which would open the door for his participation in the 2012 Tour de France.

There have been innumerable delays in the CAS process, with the latest coming on the heels of accusations about the impartiality of the three-member panel set to decide Contador’s fate.

Word has it that the final ruling is being parsed by lawyers to assure that there is no room for an appeal in civil court. CAS officials have assured the media that a decision will be released by Monday.

Mallorca has seen several key chapters of Contador’s sporting life played out on the scenic Mediterranean island.

During the 2008 Mallorca Challenge, an angry Contador heard the news that his then-Astana team would be excluded from that year’s Tour, meaning he would not be able to defend his Tour crown that year.

Last year, Contador held an emotional press conference in the wake of hearing the news that the Spanish cycling federation would hand him a reduced, one-year sentence in his clenbuterol case. Contador angrily denied the allegations and said the only thing he was guilty of “was eating contaminated steaks.”

The Spanish federation later reversed its decision and cleared Contador of all charges, and Contador hurriedly started the Volta ao Algarve the following day in Portugal.

Contador’s presence will somewhat overshadow the start of the 2012 Spanish racing calendar with the Mallorca Challenge, reduced from five to four days.

Some 21 teams will participate in the series of one-day races (an unofficial overall champion is designated, but riders can start any of the four days during the week).

Several big names will open their respective racing seasons, including Tour champion Cadel Evans (BMC), the Schleck brothers (RadioShack-Nissan-Trek) as well as Vuelta a España champion Juanjo Cobo and Alejandro Valverde (Movistar).

Frigid temperatures and snow on the higher-elevation roads could force organizers to reroute some of the races.

PARIS, Feb 4, 2012 (AFP) – Mark Renshaw’s reputation as the best lead-out man in cycling has been put firmly behind him as he prepares to step out of the shadow of British sprint king Mark Cavendish.

At the Tour of Qatar beginning on Sunday, Renshaw, the defending champion, may get a first chance to test his legs against the man whose global reputation he has helped build over three success-laden years. News this morning broke that Cavendish was ill and may not be able to start the race.

While Cavendish has surpassed all sprinters at the Tour de France by amassing 20 stage wins in only five years, Renshaw was a crucial cog in the machine that many believe took sprinting to new levels.Basking in the glory of cycling’s fastest man, however, has a shelf-life.

When HTC-Highroad broke up in December, Cavendish, as expected, signed for Team Sky. Renshaw opted to sign for Dutch outfit Rabobank, where he has the chance to start notching up victories for himself.

For Rabobank manager Erik Breukink, however, the pressure is definitely not on. “You always have to give riders some time because he’s changed from lead-out man to a sprinter,” the Dutchman told AFP at the recent Tour Down
Under in Adelaide.

Despite often providing an unrivaled back wheel for Cavendish to follow on his road to success, Renshaw has since had to re-jig his entire training program.

And with no specialized sprint ‘train’ at Rabobank, he is counting on his bike-handling skills to make up the shortfall. “I want to win races, and the goal is to go to the Tour de France and try to win a stage there,” Renshaw told AFP. “We’re not going to have a team like Cav or the other sprinters, but I think I’m smart enough to be able to freestyle off their trains and try and get a result.”

To his credit, Cavendish always shares the plaudits with the men who help set up each of his big wins, and Renshaw has often been given special mention.

Even when the going got tough in the mountains, Renshaw was there to share with Cavendish some of the most difficult days of their careers.

Days after Renshaw was thrown off the 2010 Tour de France for violent conduct, as he tried to set up Cavendish for yet another sprint win, the Manxman was unequivocal about his team-mate’s input.”Mark has made my life easy. He and the whole team deliver me to the last 200 meters,” said Cavendish. “I’ve missed Mark, also in the Pyrenees when I didn’t have someone who was worse off than me to look at.”

Stages in the Tour of Qatar often finish in bunch or group sprints, setting the scene for a series of potential duels between the former team-mates, should Cavendish be well enough to race.

But despite claiming to know Cavendish inside-out, Renshaw admits he will not be taking beating the current world champion for granted.

“For sure, there’s a lot of things I can take (from his time with Cavendish) but I’m not going to tell anyone what they are!” said the Australian, who even believes Cavendish’s success rate could increase this season. “I’ve raced with (former HTC team-mates) Matt Goss, Greg Henderson and Andre Greipel and I think they’re all beatable. “But I think this year he (Cavendish) will be as successful. With the world champion’s jersey, he’s probably found new motivation, and he’s expecting a child. Things couldn’t be better for him.”

He added: “Now, things are different for me and the mental side of things plays a bigger role. And the training required to be the sprinter is harder.

“But it’s a numbers game, and sooner or later my number will come up.”

The closure of the FDA investigation into what may or may not have happened in the late 1990s and early 2000s at the United States Postal Service Professional Cycling Team was inevitable and unsurprising.

If one is to read about the extraordinary lengths lead investigator, Jeff Novitzky, went to in his investigation of BALCO, as documented by two San Francisco Chronicle reporters in the 2006 book Game of Shadows: Barry Bonds, BALCO, and the Steroids Scandal that Rocked Professional Sports, you will understand the same federal agent, in his quest to nab Lance Armstrong, would have done absolutely everything he could.

With BALCO, Novitzky was working in real time: staking out offices and homes, rummaging through garbage bins, tracing suspicious packages, and digging up dirt on nefarious associates. Marion Jones, Barry Bonds, Roger Clemens, and others had no time to react, to dispose or destroy evidence, or to fabricate stories that would hold up in court. Because, at the time, they had no idea they were being investigated.

However, in Armstrong, Novitzky was working with events that may or may not have transpired 10 or more years ago. Should there have been any detritus of incriminating evidence, only the most foolhardy would still have it with him, knowing he was under investigation.

And Lance, as we all know, is no fool.

For me, Friday’s closure of ‘Postalgate’ by the US Attorney’s Office is relevant because, like the case of Alberto Contador, it has been protracted beyond belief.

Note the reasons for their decision to shelve the investigation – read the statement: “The United States Attorney determined that a public announcement concerning the closing of the investigation was warranted by numerous reports about the investigation in media outlets around the world.”

In other words, the federal probe was ostensibly closed, not because there was no evidence, or too much taxpayers’ money had been wasted, or Novitzky, as Armstrong’s defense team repeatedly claimed, had an axe to grind, but due to the number of leaks to the press.

The majority of these leaks emanated from the federal grand jury established in Los Angeles, which subpoenaed a number of Armstrong’s associates, including former team-mates Tyler Hamilton, Floyd Landis and Frankie Andreu, physiologist Dr. Allen Lim, and Oakley’s Stephanie McIlvain.

The Wall Street Journal and New York Times, as well as ESPN.com, were the primary beneficiaries – augmented in January 2011 by a Sports Illustrated investigation and then in May, by Hamilton’s appearance on “60 Minutes,” where, throughout the interview, he looked like a rabbit caught in the crosshairs; in my estimation, it only strengthened Armstrong’s credibility.
The point is this: the longer a high-profile investigation drags on, the greater the propensity for leaks and by consequence, the great the chance of a mistrial or of a case being dropped.

The FDA investigation into Armstrong was almost two years long, while caso Contador is 19 months and counting.
While Contador’s November 21-24 hearing last year with the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) was supposed to be a closed trial, certain participants have not been so muted.

Perhaps most concerning for the plaintiff is the three-panel judge’s decision to block oral testimony from Australian anti-doping scientist, Michael Ashenden. Still, no World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA)-ratified test exists for either plasticizers (said to have been found in the July 20, 2010 test, but not on July 21, the date of Contador’s positive test for clenbuterol) or autologous blood doping; Ashenden’s testimony, therefore, would have been crucial to corroborate the UCI/WADA’s purported theory that clenbuterol entered the Spaniard’s blood via transfusion. WADA, however, denied filing a complaint to CAS.

As in the case of Novitzky’s efforts to nab Armstrong, those not-so-silent voices will only delight the defendant. CAS has already blamed the media for the delay of its verdict, originally due mid-January but now expected Monday in Europe.

Adopting the strict letter of WADA law, Contador should be penalized and handed a two-year suspension, and have all his results from July 21, 2010 annulled, including that year’s Tour de France victory and his Giro d’Italia triumph the following year, as the anti-doping agency reportedly argued in the November CAS hearing.

Clenbuterol is and remains a zero-tolerance drug. The contaminated beef, as claimed by the Spaniard, no longer exists in any form – and is therefore impossible to prove as such. “I think it is very difficult for either side to prove,” Douwe de Boer, who assisted Contador in the early days of the case, told the AP in November last year. “Nobody can prove anything.”

Alas, we will never know how the clenbuterol got into Bertie’s body. Yet the onus of responsibility lies on him to tell us so: “He has to prove where the clenbuterol came from. That’s what the code says,” Howard Jacobs, a leading American sports lawyer told the AP.

Paradoxically, however, Contador, due to the protracted nature of his case, and the inevitable media leaks that have interspersed it, will likely walk free – guilty or otherwise.

In turn, a landmark, though perilous, precedent will be set: an athlete who tests positive for a substance like clenbuterol and claims food contamination as a defense can be excused without the need to prove the source of the contamination.

Should we be surprised, then, that the majority of blue chip companies continue to view investing in professional road cycling as anything other than a risk?

Just ask Bob Stapleton. He’ll tell it to you, straight-up.

Results from today's GVA Trofee - Krawatencross in Lille, Belgium

Team Sky issued a press release this morning indicating that reigning world champ Mark Cavendish has taken ill. He sat out this morning’s team training ride as a “precautionary measure” according to team medical staff. Cav was beginning to feel badly on the flight from London to Doha on Friday evening. Rod Ellingworth said that “it’s disappointing that Mark has fallen ill the day before his Team Sky debut. He felt fine when he boarded the plane last night but wasn’t 100% when he got off it.

“The team doctor assessed him last night, and again this morning, and everyone felt it was in his best interests not to ride with the others. Since then he’s been recovering in his hotel room and we’re doing everything we can to get him back on his feet again” Ellingworth said.

While no one on the team was certain as to whether Cav would make Sunday’s start, Ellingworth told reporters that “We’re still confident he will start the race but we’ll continue to monitor his health for the rest of today and make a decision on whether he will start the race at 10am local time on Sunday morning.”

Despite Ellingworth’s optimism, just a few hours ago, Cav tweeted the following:

“13hrs of sweat-drenched sleep hasn’t shifted a fever that started on the plane over here. Really not feeling well today. Can’t leave my bed.”

Results from today's GVA Trofee - Krawatencross in Lille, Belgium

Trek Bicycle is proud to announce a partnership with seven-time Canadian National and three-time World XTerra champion triathlete Melanie McQuaid. The tenacious Canadian will be attacking her 2012 off-road racing schedule aboard Trek’s defending XTerra World Champion 29er, the

American federal prosecutors have announced that the investigation into allegations of a doping program by Lance Armstrong and his team mates while sponsored by the U.S. Postal Service has been closed.The Associated Press quoted U.S. Attorney Andre Birotte Jr as saying his office "is closing an

The Associated Press reported Friday afternoon that federal prosecutors have closed the investigation of seven-time Tour de France champion Lance Armstrong without filing charges. The investigation, headed by federal agent Jeff Novitzky, focused on alleged performance enhancing drug use by Armstrong and his former U.S. Postal Service teammates in the late 1990’s and early 2000’s.

According to AP, United States Attorney André Birotte Jr. said in a press release that his office was closing the investigation, but did not disclose the reason.

U.S. Anti-Doping Agency CEO Travis Tygert said in a statement that his organization would pursue documents from the investigation.

“Unlike the U.S. Attorney, USADA’s job is to protect clean sport rather than enforce specific criminal laws,” said Tygart. “Our investigation into doping in the sport of cycling is continuing and we look forward to obtaining the information developed during the federal investigation.”

The Armstrong investigation grew out of two seemingly unrelated events: the reported discovery of PED’s in the apartment of former Rock Racing rider Kayle Leogrande and the accusations made by former Armstrong teammate Floyd Landis regarding systematic doping at U.S. Postal during the 2010 Amgen Tour of California. In his interviews with the Wall Street Journal and ESPN, Landis accused Armstrong of masterminding organized doping during his reign atop the sport’s most prestigious event.

As he has done for more than a decade, Armstrong fought the accusations in the press. Meanwhile, Novitzky built a case quietly over the summer of 2010. A Los Angeles grand jury subsequently subpoenaed a number of Armstrong associates, including teammates Frankie Andreu and Tyler Hamilton, physiologist Dr. Allen Lim and Oakley’s Stephanie McIlvain.

In August 2010, Armstrong hired a powerful team of attorneys and strategists, including former White House special counsel Mark Fabiani and former assistant U.S. Attorney Brian Daly.

The story remained in the news as leaks emerged from the investigation and Novitzky led a group of agents on a discovery mission to Europe in late 2010, meeting with French anti-doping lab directors at Interpol headquarters in Lyon. Sports Illustrated published new details of the investigation in January 2011, but Novitzky was dealt a blow in April when his high-profile investigation of Major League Baseball homerun king Barry Bonds ended with a mistrial on steroids-related charges.

The storm built, however, and Hamilton appeared on CBS News’ “60 Minutes” just after the finale of the Tour of California in May, corroborating Landis’ accusations. The program also reported that former teammate George Hincapie had testified to the grand jury that Armstrong had used PED’s, a claim Hincapie did not dismiss, though he did say that he had never spoken with “60 Minutes” staff.

Armstrong called for a probe of leaks in the investigation in July 2011 and the case went quiet. In court documents, Armstrong’s team claimed that, “The leaker in this case has, from the beginning, acted with the obvious intent of legitimizing the government’s investigation of a national hero, best known for his role in the fight against cancer… Each leak has been designed to propagate public support for this investigation by smearing Armstrong and tarnishing his reputation. The tactical nature of these leaks cannot be ignored as it strongly suggests an underlying partisanship inherent in government agents.”

With the grand jury set to expire, anticipation has built over the outcome and Friday’s announcement closes the almost-two-year-old investigation of the most popular — and controversial — figure in modern cycling.

“This is great news,” said Fabiani said in a statement. “Lance is pleased that the United States Attorney made the right decision, and he is more determined than ever to devote his time and energy to Livestrong and to the causes that have defined his career.”

Armstrong himself said “I am gratified to learn that the U.S. Attorney’s office is closing its investigation. It is the right decision and I commend them for reaching it. I look forward to continuing my life as a father, a competitor, and an advocate in the fight against cancer without this distraction.”

Longtime Armstrong detractor — and wife of former Motorola/U.S. Postal rider Frankie Andreu — Betsy Andreu was disappointed by the decision.

“Our legal system failed us,” she told the Associated Press. “This is what happens when you have a lot of money and you can buy attorneys who have people in high places in the Department of Justice.”

What’s Inside the Velo March 2012 Issue

The March issue of Velo magazine, the Nations Issue, is unlike anything Velo has done before. From tip-to-tail, we profile the changing currents in global cycling, just in time for the London Olympic Games.

European correspondent Andrew Hood profiles Eritrean Daniel Teklehaimonot and with just six months until the Olympics. Editor Neal Rogers explores the potential U.S. road team — including cover athletes Evelyn Stevens and Taylor Phinney — and finds that both the men’s and women’s squads are wide open.

Former Velo editor-at-large John Wilcockson previews the London cycling events in “Britain Takes Center Stage.” The Olympic road race course, with its featured Box Hill climb, runs past Wilcockson’s childhood home, and the British ex-pat queries whether his home nation, with Mark Cavendish and Sir Chris Hoy at the helm, can repeat its historic eight-gold-medal haul in 2008.

Britain’s top billing in London is telling of the British Isles’ rise to the heights of the sport, but Britain’s big-dollar ascension isn’t the only move atop the international peloton. In “State of the Nations,” we rate the traditional powerhouses like France, Italy and Russia, which have lost ground over the past decade, while Australia has built on the legacy of Phil Anderson to become perhaps the next contender to assume a place atop cycling.

Globetrotter Gregg Bleakney profiles efforts by the UCI to globalize the sport from Colombia to China and back, tracing the rise of the McQuaid family over the last 30 years. Australian attorney Lloyd Freeburn provides the counterpoint to “Cycling Gone Global,” claiming that at the heart of the federation is a deeply flawed constitution that favors the European continent.

Velo tech editors explore your origins of the goodies hanging on your local shop wall. Their efforts to assemble a bike built entirely in the U.S. falls short, but with a little creativity, an all-Italian rig proves that while hard to find, a high-quality bike is still available “Prodotti Italiani.” In Training, coach Trevor Connor outlines a plan to have you primed for the national championships.

Stage 3 results General Classification results

Judith Arndt donned the leader’s golden jersey in the howling wind after the final stage of the Ladies Tour of Qatar as the 2012 race winner. Arndt went into the stage with a two-second lead over fellow German Trixi Worrack, but finished six seconds ahead of Worrack after a windy battle.

The women had battled wind throughout the race, but Friday saw strong headwinds the entire first half of the stage. Nonetheless, at 14km American Kendall Ryan broke away and stayed off the front for 40km in the wind. At 20km she had a 3:25 lead and took the first bonus sprint.

Arndt won the second bonus sprint in a bunched sprint. After this point, 16 favorites broke off the front, but were caught again at 57km. The peloton rode together with a tail wind heading into the final sprint, where Wild dominated in similar fashion to stage 1. She finished third in the GC.

Worrack took home the silver points jersey, and Chloe Hosking was named the best young rider. Specialized-Lululemon was named the best team.

Arndt in gold  after stage 2
Wind brings out Wild in stage 1

• 1. Pierre ROLLAND , (FRA) Euc, in 3:55:54
• 2. Franck VERMEULEN , (FRA) Vru, +0
• 3. Nacer BOUHANNI , (FRA) Fdj, +7
• 4. Stéphane POULHIES , (FRA) Sau, +7
• 5. Kris BOECKMANS , (BEL) Vcd, +7
• 6. Marco MARCATO , (ITA) Vcd, +7
• 7. Sébastien CHAVANEL , (FRA) Euc, +7
• 8. Jean-Luc DELPECH , (FRA) Bsc, +7
• 9. Bobbie TRAKSEL , (NED) Lan, +7
• 10. Benjamin GIRAUD , (FRA) Lpm, +7
• 11. Armindo FONSECA , (FRA) Bsc, +7
• 12. Anthony RAVARD , (FRA) Alm, +7
• 13. Gediminas BAGDONAS , (LTU) Skt, +7
• 14. Yannick MARTINEZ , (FRA) Lpm, +7
• 15. Gijs VAN HOECKE , (BEL) Tsv, +7
• 16. Fabien SCHMIDT , (FRA) Rlm, +7
• 17. Pieter GHYLLEBERT , (BEL) Skt, +7
• 18. Jimmy ENGOULVENT , (FRA) Sau, +7
• 19. Davy COMMEYNE , (BEL) Lan, +7
• 20. Samuel DUMOULIN , (FRA) Cof, +7
• 21. Romain MATHEOU , (FRA) Vru, +7
• 22. Gael MALACARNE , (FRA) Bsc, +7
• 23. Jean-Pierre DRUCKER , (LUX) Acc, +7
• 24. Julien EL FARES , (FRA) Tt1, +7
• 25. Renaud DION , (FRA) Bsc, +7
• 26. Georg PREIDLER , (AUT) Tt1, +7
• 27. Romain BACON , (FRA) Big, +7
• 28. Yukiya ARASHIRO , (JPN) Euc, +7
• 29. Alexandre PICHOT , (FRA) Euc, +7
• 30. Simon GESCHKE , (GER) Pro, +7
• 31. Anthony DELAPLACE , (FRA) Sau, +7
• 32. Maxime BOUET , (FRA) Alm, +7
• 33. Andy CAPPELLE , (BEL) Acc, +7
• 34. Rémy DI GREGORIO , (FRA) Cof, +7
• 35. Tom STAMSNIJDER , (NED) Pro, +7
• 36. Davide MALACARNE , (ITA) Euc, +7
• 37. Dirk BELLEMAKERS , (NED) Lan, +7
• 38. Staf SCHEIRLINCKX , (BEL) Acc, +7
• 39. Daniele COLLI , (ITA) Tt1, +7
• 40. Pieter VANSPEYBROUCK , (BEL) Tsv, +7

The Canadian Centre for Ethics in Sport (CCES) is leading Canada’s national response to a full anti-doping rule review. Your feedback is vital to this important process. The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) has begun a year-long consultation on the World Anti-Doping Code and international

Cycling BC was founded in February, 1974, and has one of the largest operating budgets for a provincial sport organization in British Columbia. We service over 70 clubs and teams with over 5,000 registered members. We also have a very active and elite level high performance team, with some members

Arndt Claims Gold on Stage 3's Windy Loop around the Katara Cultural VillageThe third and final stage of the Ladies' Tour of Qatar competed in windy conditions, ended in a bunched sprint. Like on day 1, Kirsten WIld powered to victory. But the star of the day was Germany's Judith Arndt who managed